Intervention
by PsychoLeopard
Summary: MWPP, JL. Twoshot. What if Lily needed a little help in changing her viewpoint of James? Reviews would be much appreciated.
1. An Intervention

_AN: This will probably just be a one-shot. I absolutely couldn't help myself, after reading all the JL I could. I actually started five JL fics (so far), and this is the one that I think is most postable, even though it's all rather confused…so, tell me if I should leave it up or delete it._

_Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, that character would not have died until book seven, if at all. It happened, ergo, HP is not mine, nor are any of the characters in this fic._

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"Lily, can we ask you a question?"

Lily turned to look at her friend Remus, with his friend Sirius Black beside him. The common room was otherwise empty, not unusual for an evening when the Head Girl was in a temper.

"What is it?" she asked wearily, hoping it was a question about their homework.

No such luck. "Why do you treat James the way you do?"

She raised one eyebrow, somewhat annoyed. "Did he put you up to this?"

They exchanged serious glances. "No," Remus answered slowly. "And he won't hear about this from us, either. So will you answer the question?"

She sighed and set aside her textbook. In truth, it might feel good to let it out. "Are you sure you want to hear this? Well, then, he's arrogant. He cares about nobody but himself. He expects people to fall at his feet in worship when he passes by. He hexes people when _he's_ in a foul mood. He never has to work for his classes like the rest of us. The teachers love him even though he's a trouble-maker. He takes all praise and admiration like it's his due. I doubt he's ever had to struggle for anything in his life. He treats life like a joke. He's disrespectful. He plays with people's hearts. He disregards the rules and the fact that there're there for a reason. And I just find it so unfair that I have to work twice as hard to prove myself, because I'm muggleborn and he's a pureblood. People expect him to succeed and me to fail, even though I've worked harder! And I hate that I worked so hard to become Head Girl and then he just got Head Boy handed to him like so much else!"

"Do you think that's his fault? Or that he's any happier about that than you?" Remus asked steadily.

"What do you mean?" she asked, taken aback.

"Once he got over his shock, he came to me. And he told me it should have been mine. He apologized and said he'd write to Dumbledore. He honestly felt that the badge should be rights have gone to me. I told him to keep it, because he's a natural leader and the students will listen to him."

"But he's a terrible role model!"

"And he also knows most of the ways to break the rules, so no one's going to be able to get away with much," Sirius pointed out. "And he's resolved to take the post seriously, if you hadn't noticed."

The two of them took a seat across from her. "Alright, let's address these points one by one," Remus said reasonably. Sirius nodded, looking not at all as he usually did.

"You said he's arrogant. Well, that's partly true, but it's half his fault and half others. The way the students treat him—excepting your fair and lovely self—did give him something of an ego," Sirius explained. "Coming to Hogwarts and suddenly being loved can do that to you, with no one to teach you better."

Lily raised an eyebrow again. "Does that apply to you as well, Mr. Black?"

Remus chuckled. "It does. Now, as for him not caring about others…both of us can attest to the falsity of that. He has risked everything for me on a regular basis."

"He doesn't expect people to worship him, either," Sirius explained. "That's me, silly flower. He hopes for it, and enjoys it, but he doesn't expect it."

Lily opened her mouth to protest that that was no better, but Sirius held up a hand. "There's a difference, believe me, and you aren't to interrupt! Don't you like it when teachers praise you? It's much the same."

"He used to hex people for no good reason," Remus admitted reluctantly. "But he stopped late last year, and has since found different ways of taking out his anger."

Sirius shook his head. "That poor wall," he said mournfully.

"And it's true that he has a natural intelligence, but so do you. And he does do work—we've seen him. But the fact that he catches on quickly is hardly his fault," Remus continued with a quelling look for Sirius.

"Again with the praise…he enjoys it because it's something that was new to him when he arrived at school," Sirius explained. "As for teachers loving him…they don't love him as much as they love you. And we think they need a little humor in their daily lives. It's good for them."

"I can personally guarantee that he has struggled for things. He spent three years struggling to master one skill, for example. And perhaps he doesn't have to work for the tangible things, but his life is no easier to live than yours or mine," Remus said soberly, his eyes shadowed.

Lily looked at him with some consternation, since she knew he was a werewolf. How could James' life compare to lycanthropy?

Remus saw her question and gave a sad little smile. "Just take my word for that one."

"And he does _not_ treat life like a joke," Sirius said flatly. "He just acts that way, trying to get others to lighten up. Or maybe it's a way of rebelling against his parents…it wouldn't surprise me. As for playing with people's hearts…he never has. He does not lead girls on or let them think he feels something he doesn't. Most girls only want to go out with him for the reputation, anyway. He's too hung up on you to make a good boyfriend."

Lily snorted her disbelief of that, but otherwise kept silent.

"And yes, we break the rules. But we usually know which rules are safe to break and which are not," Sirius stated calmly.

"As for the muggle-born-pureblood debate, you should realize that anyone who knows you has only the highest regard for your skills, muggle-born or not. Nor is it fair to resent him for something he has never been able to change, which is his birth," Remus pointed out rationally.

"Did we miss anything?" Sirius asked, with a smirk on his face.

Lily stared at him for a moment, trying to get her voice to work. "I…I'm not sure I believe a word you just said."

They both shrugged. "Think on it, at least," Remus advised. "Oh, and one other thing…"

"Yes?" she asked warily.

"I would ask that you open your eyes. Stop seeing what you expect to see, stop seeing what you used to see, and stop seeing what you want to see," Remus requested. "That's all. You'll have to draw your own conclusions from there."

The two of them stood and headed for the boy's dormitory. At the foot of the steps, Sirius stopped and looked back. "Oh, and Lily?"

"What?"

"If you should see Snape sporting blue hair tomorrow…I did it. I don't think it'd be fair if you blew up at James twice in a row for my actions." He bounded up the stairs without waiting for a reply.

The Head Girl stared after them for a moment. Then, feeling daring and bold, she crept to the staircase and climbed up quickly, stopping outside the door that said "seventh year." The door was open just a crack, and she leaned close to listen.

"…doing in the common room at this hour?" Ja—Potter asked.

"Just had a question for Lily about our Arithmancy assignment," Remus lied smoothly.

"And you, Padfoot? You don't take Arithmancy."

"I was bothering your flower."

"She's not mine Padfoot, and I doubt she ever will be. She hates me, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"And why do you bother her? She'll just take it out on me."

"At least you'll have some interaction, even if she is shouting at you."

"That's true…" mused James. "You'd think I'd have outgrown that thinking by now, though."

"You might have. I haven't," Sirius replied cheerfully. "We have any butterbeer left?"

"Yeah, under _your_ bed," Remus replied. "Did you finish what you needed to, Prongs?"

She heard him sigh. "Yeah, or as close to finished as I'm going to get. She'll probably just change it all, anyway. So…full moon tomorrow night?"

"Yeah."

"Excellent," Sirius exclaimed.

"Maybe for you. You'll be there?"

"Of course. I don't even have practice, so barring any unexpected detentions, we'll be there before you transform."

Lily frowned. What was this?

"Good. And Lily doesn't expect you for a meeting?"

"We're meeting during our afternoon break instead. I don't know what I'll do if she ever wants to meet in the evening…I don't want to let either of you down."

"You still thinking about that, Prongs?" demanded Sirius. "Mate, you gotta stop. _None of it was your fault_. And we'll tell you until you believe it."

"I know. Let's just go to bed. Moony needs his sleep. Where's Wormtail?"

Someone snorted. "Kitchens, probably. He'll be back. Hopefully Lily doesn't bite his head off when he returns. He hasn't got the cloak."

Someone sighed. "Now you've done it, Padfoot. He's off in Lily-land."

"Me and my big mouth. Oy, Padfoot to Prongs! You're supposed to dream while _lying down_, mate."

"Can I miss something I never had?" James asked, sounding slightly confused.

"Dunno mate. Suppose so. But you know, you _could_ have it," Sirius replied.

James laughed bitterly. "That attitude is what got me in trouble in the first place, remember?"

"Why does the conversation always turn to Lily?" Sirius asked dramatically.

"You started it," pointed out Remus dryly.

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_Well, that's it. We all know where it ends up, and I'm not that great a writer for relationships. I took a few liberties (obviously), but I hope it was believable. Please let me know what you think via that purple button in the corner down there. Even if it's "I hate it." :Offers virtual cookie and makes puppy eyes: Please?  
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	2. Lily's Reaction

_A/N: I was asked to continue, so I did. I had a bit of trouble getting it right, and it still isn't perfect, but I don't want to mess with it anymore. This really is it for this one though, folks. I am not continuing. If you want to see how their relationship goes, then go read one of the other excellent stories in this section. Sorry, but I don't write relationships well at all._

_Cookies to Sheyana, lilah lee, Agnus1014, Mische, Hazelocean, and Mubaki for reviewing. I hope this satisfies you as far as continuing goes._

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all the characters therein belong to J.K.Rowling. I am just a lowly college student playing with her characters._

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Lily found herself distracted the next morning as she got ready and went to class. She kept remembering the events of the night before.

_Could I really have misjudged them so badly? Am I really that terrible a judge of character? Was I wrong?_

These were not exactly pleasant thoughts. For one thing, she hated to be wrong. For another, realizing how terribly she had treated her fellow classmates made her feel a little guilty.

That feeling vanished when she arrived at breakfast. Snape was indeed sporting blue hair, and he looked none too happy about it. Lily sneaked a peek at the marauders, who looked far too innocent. Remus said something to Jam—Potter, who shrugged and replied. Both were fixedly not looking at their rival as laughter spread through the great hall. Sirius, on the other hand, was roaring openly in mirth. Peter, beside him, was snickering into his pumpkin juice. Lily shook her head, but decided not to interfere. She wasn't sure she could face any of them just yet this morning. If she did, it would just turn into a shouting match, if not a duel. And she didn't care to humiliate herself yet this morning.

_Open your eyes_, Remus had said. Very well, she would try. She observed all four marauders from the corner of her eye as she took another bite of toast.

Remus looked tired, as he always did around the full moon. He was picking at his breakfast. Jame—Potter was doing the same, though he looked more dejected than tired. Sirius was inhaling his food at an impossible rate, and Peter seemed to be doing the same. Remus and James Potter seemed to be having a half-hearted conversation. She watched James run his hand through his hair without checking to see who was watching.

Some girl from Hufflepuff boldly took a seat between James and Sirius. She took one look at Sirius and turned away in disgust before focusing on James. She said something, to which James shook his head. When she said something else, he replied briefly, stood, and left. The girl pouted after him for a moment before latching onto Sirius, who had finished eating and seemed surprised to find a girl hanging on his arm.

"Lily? Are you alright?"

Lily shook herself mentally and forced herself to reply to her friend. "I was just thinking. Let's go." She stood and picked up her bag, deciding not to look at the marauders again.

She managed to ignore them through Charms and Transfiguration. It helped that they didn't disrupt either lesson with laughter, pranks, or inappropriate remarks. That in itself was surprising, but welcome. Any interaction at lunch she avoided by eating quickly and then heading to the library.

It was with great reluctance that Lily returned to the common room to meet James that afternoon after Defense Against the Dark Arts. To her surprise, he was waiting for her. Even more shocking was that he was alone. No Sirius, no Remus, not even a circle of girls gushing about his hair or his talent. The common room was empty but for him, staring at the fire.

He looked up as she took a seat. For a moment, she thought she saw something in his eyes, but then it was gone as his customary smirk appeared. That irritated her to no end, so she scowled at him.

"Good afternoon, Evans."

"Let's get this over with. Did you finish your half of the report?"

"Of course," he replied nonchalantly. He stretched his legs out and put his hands behind his head.

She gritted her teeth. "May I see it?"

He grinned at her. "If you must." He reached into his bag without looking and tossed a piece of parchment to her.

"Why must you be such a git?" she demanded rhetorically as she focused on his report.

"May I see your half?" he asked, ignoring her comment.

Lily grunted and handed it to him. They were silent for several minutes as they read the reports. At last, she looked up. James was still bent over her half of the report. His hair was messy, but it looked good. Catching herself, she shook her head. Hesitantly, she remarked, "This is really good."

"No need to sound so surprised, Evans," he replied coolly. "Yours is perfect, of course."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'of course'?"

He shrugged and handed it back to her. "You do everything to the best of your ability. So of course, there wouldn't be anything to fix. I assume you wanted to give it to McGonagall?"

She was a trifle taken aback. "Yes. How do you know I do my best?"

He shrugged again and stood, stretching lazily. "I used to watch you. It's like you believe you have to be better than everyone else at everything, just because you were muggle-born. You don't, you know. Have to prove that you're better, I mean. You're already one of the smartest and most talented witches at Hogwarts."

Lily was blushing. She could feel it, and she only hoped he wouldn't look at her. It wasn't just what James was saying, it was the way he said it. So matter-of-fact, as if he knew it so well that he didn't even have to question it.

He made as if to leave, but she couldn't just let the conversation—what there was of it—end like this. "I'm not perfect, you know," she blurted out suddenly.

James met her eyes with a gentle smile. That smile hit her like a blow to the gut. It said that nothing mattered but her. It said she didn't have to be perfect, or the best, or anything but herself. How could one _smile_ say that?

"No," he replied at last, over his shoulder. "But you're as close as they come."

"Why did you stop asking me out?" Lily asked in a small voice. She couldn't meet his gaze, so she stared at her hands. She wondered if he would make a joke of it, or take it as an invitation to start.

"Because you didn't like it when I did, and you always said no," he answered in all seriousness. "I decided I was only annoying you and hurting myself, and it just wasn't worth it."

"Oh." Now she felt tiny. _Did it really hurt him when I said no? Was it more than a blow to his ego? How can I be sure? I've got no way to know if he's being honest. Remus might know, but I'm not sure I want to go to him with this. Besides, he's more likely to support his friend than be brutally honest. Maybe I should figure this out on my own._

"Why do your friends love you so much?" she asked abruptly, looking up to see his reaction. She had seen and wondered, sometimes, at the bond among the marauders. She couldn't help it. She was puzzled by what held Remus to the rest of them.

He blinked. "Because that's what happens when you would die for one another. You become friends. What brought that on?"

It was her turn to shrug. "Just trying to figure you out." _Now he'll make some flirty remark, and I can go back to being annoyed at him._

"Why do you want to figure me out?" he asked curiously. He had turned back to face her, evidently realizing that this conversation was not over.

_Well, that wasn't quite what I was expecting_… "Just pondering something Remus said."

James frowned. "What did he say?"

"Never mind." Lily didn't know how to deal with him when he was like this. Playing pranks, acting the prat, even asking her out in that cocky voice she could handle. She knew how to react to those things, because they had played through each scenario hundreds of times. But this serious, earnest James…she suddenly felt that she didn't know him at all. As if he was so much more than she had ever guessed.

She couldn't deal with this right now, so she picked up her bag and stood. She walked swiftly to the staircase to the girls' dormitories before turning and telling him, "If you asked me out, James, I might say yes." Then she raced up the stairs, before he could digest her statement.


End file.
